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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Mardi Gras Nails

Laissez les bon temps rouler! Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! I have never celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but I have celebrated Fasnacht in Basel, Switzerland twice. It is one of the top 5 experiences of my life so far. Imagine giant paper lantern floats, led by teams of pipers and drummers decked out in crazy masks, all with paper lanterns on their heads, too! The lights of Basel go out at 4am and then it's a parade and a party until the sun comes up (and even after that). The pipers and drummers start to wander off onto side streets and you might end up following just a few of them down a little alleyway. Then you stop and get some coffee or beer, and Zwiebelkuchen, an onion-y quiche. Then you head back out for more! It's magical.

I chose Mardi Grad colors and did a skittles mani (skittles=different colors on each nail, like a bag of Skittles candy). Then I added a bit of nail art to make it festive.

Here are the nails before I added nail art.

I did the fleur de lis freehand using gold acrylic paint. To find out more about my technique for nail art and the tools and paints I use, please check out my FAQ section.

On my right hand I added a string of beads using more gold acrylic paint.

Colors used in this manicure: Zoya Mimi, Ulta Envy, and L'Oreal Amazon's Flash. All of these shades are gorgeous!

If you are interested in Basel's Fasnacht celebration, check out this short video. Those lanterns following the big floats are attached to the tops of people's heads!

Finally, don't forget to cast your vote in my 500 Follower contest! I have all of the photos posted on my Facebook page. Simply 'like' the picture to cast your vote. Voting ends on Friday, February 24th at 5pm Pacific Time. Thanks!